St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1887-07-28
IATTLE RAISING IN THE WEST.
L Changed Conditions and Who May



Succeed.
Theodore Roosevelt of New York,
10 owns a cattle ranch at the West,
lately unburdened himself to Sun
borter on the cattle business. "The
u for making great fortunes out of
tile raising has passed." he says.
ii was a barbaric vocation needing
rbaric conditions. 1t required a
rfectly limitless area of unOecupied
a virgin vegetation, among other
ings, and this is no longer to be had.
lie Northwest is practically fully oc-
bied by ranches now. And yet the
81 West is a very good place for men
81 o are accustomed to manual labor;
persevering, thrifty, and can stand
~ amount of hard work and disap-
Eminent. There is no greater mis-
Ike for a young man who is a clerk or
benniless swell than to think that all
hi is needed for success out West is
IL fact of having failed in the East.
! men from the East who succeed
Is best there are blacksmiths, farmers
young men brought up in the cOun-
II. To succeed they find that both
& raj and physical qualities of pc
s, lar kind are needed. But if they
We them they will get along much
ster and further than their fellow
fmers and mechanics of the East. On
4tOck ranch the work is very mOnOt-
bus, very hard, and men must pos
IS natural aptitude for finding
4eir way out of the wilderness aud
yr riding rough horses. 1t takes good
lIysical development, a labOriOus APP
confidence, pluck, and a
bod nature. The eastern labOring
.an asks for a working day of eight
ours, but have worked for six weeks
5 a time when if | got off with I6
K urs of work in a day | considered
rather lucky. On the round up
j hands are in it from dawn till
kht.
No man ought to put money into
lex raising until he has worked at it
lii his hands for year or two. Who
fer wishes to succeed ought to go out
#pared to do any kind of odd jobs
& get a living, and then work his way
81 degrees till he can earn good wages.
sr the first year or two he ought not
81 have any capital, and after that,
hen he starts for himself, the more
q has the better. 1t is difficult to
8me any sum upon which he should
gin, so very much depends upon the
IN. ! have known n couple of cow
Ms to start in and do well on $1,000
zFed from their wages, but L have
q yer known eastern men to do so.
FL have spoken discOuragingly in
eclaring the available land already
Harly all occupied, but the chances
- new corners will continue to offer
'Eemselves as the present ranches fall.
hree or four young men should band
zgether, and by getting hold of land
81 good stream and fencing it and
d tting up hay for their stock in the
inter, should begin with few head
4 cattle and work their way up. The
Ammer grazing land is free to all and
sill be for a long while, but under the
banging conditions it will be necessa-
! to purchase 1000 acres more or less
pm the government for the care of
lock in the winter. There will not
b vast profits in such a way Of con-
slcting the business, but the day of
ieat profits in that business is gone.
HE work now offers inducements rath-
i to such man as farmer in the
Last, who is struggling against debt
nd cannot educate his children as he
you'd like to, but who in the far West
an make small profit and lift his
cad above anxiety, changing his con-
itiOn from that of losing little to
hat of making a little, which is a
treat revolution in ones circumstances.
The ranchman of this type, and that is
o say the ranchman of the future, will
re something of a granger as we'll as a
mere stOckman. He will let his stock
Dam in summer over the grazing cOun-
~, which will long be great COM
non, but he must own little land on
which to raise sustenance for them in
winter He should be a strong and
ot an old man, and one accustomed to
ard work and to facing and OvercOm-
ng obstacles. He can get tract OF
90 acres from the government, but he
will need more, which is why recon-
mend a partnership of several men
ather than a venture single handed"